Dimmed Sunlight
by SingingIntrovert
Summary: "She wanted to believe him, more than anything, but the scene continued to play in her head, and she could practically feel the searing pain and hear the horrific slice of the sword…" Yang has a panic attack, but Taiyang will always be there for his Sunny Little Dragon. FATHER-DAUGHTER FLUFF


_The sun'll come out_

 _Tomorrow_

 _So ya gotta hang on_

 _'Til tomorrow_

 _Come what may_

 _~ Annie_

* * *

Yang skid backwards as she took in the impact of her father's blow. She wouldn't back down though, especially not to her old man.

Taiyang skillfully swung a kick to her side, but Yang dodged the attack swiftly and jabbed him in the back. While focused on the sparring match, Yang was extremely curious as to whether or not she could manage to hit him between his legs, sending him to the ground immediately. The image that appeared in her head made her giggle, and she barely escaped a deck to the face.

As much as Taiyang wanted to remind her to focus, he couldn't help but smile at the humor in her eyes. He could only imagine what devious thing she could be thinking of, but he was happy to see her smile.

Out of nowhere, Yang dropped and swung her leg underneath her dad's. He jumped, but she'd already knocked his feet askew, causing him to stumble in an attempt to keep his balance, only to receive a nudge from his daughter that landed him in the dirt.

"So," Yang cooed, "what was that thing you were saying about focus yesterday?"

Taiyang felt a smirk grow on his face as he spoke, "That you lose yours too quickly."

In less than a second, the brawler was back on his feet, sending a punch to Yang's stomach. She gasped, and for a moment, Taiyang wondered if he'd knocked the wind out of her, but then the blonde began to charge at him. Taiyang moved his arm to block her attack, with the other aimed at her right shoulder.

Suddenly, Yang's eyes widened, and rather than attempting to land a blow, she fell to the ground and stumbled, landing on her hands and knees. Taiyang chuckled at the display, "Wow, what was that? You change your mind or something?"

Yang didn't move. She stayed put, not even responding to her father's remark. Taiyang's teasing demeanor evaporated when he saw the girl's figure begin to shake, and the sound of short gasps met his ears.

"Yang?" The huntsman carefully inched towards her, "Yang, what's wrong? Are you alright?"

Yang slowly shifted onto her rear, folding her legs and bringing her knees up to her face in a fetal position. Her breaths were strangled and fast, and Taiyang had a pretty good idea as to what was happening now.

Gently, he sat on his legs next to her, keeping a safe distance for the time being in case physical contact would make her feel worse. He sat, wanting nothing more than to grab his little girl and hug her until she was his smiling ray of sunshine again, to see her confident and cheerful smile return to her face and take in the raw joy it emanated. He sat, watching his daughter in her moment of panic, and he waited. "Yang?"

Yang didn't know what had come over her, but as she was advancing towards her dad, the entire scene changed. His arm that was aiming for her shoulder turned into a bright red blade, slicing through her flesh and bone. She could see his mask, his eyes through the small slits. She could hear Blake, crying her name. She could see the Grimm, and all the innocent people they had slain. She was falling to the floor, now at Adam Taurus' mercy.

But when she hit the ground, the world around her was bright and green. She was no longer at Beacon, and the only thing she could hear were the birds, the wind blowing against the spring leaves, and the sound of her father calling her name.

But something was still wrong. She couldn't breathe...why couldn't she breathe? She took in a deep breath, but it wasn't enough, and it hurt her lungs and her chest when she tried. Yang subconsciously curled up in a poor attempt to make herself feel better. She suddenly felt really scared, like the whole world was about to collapse around her and all she could do was sit and wait in terror. The sounds of Beacon flooded her mind again, only skyrocketing her panic attack. She was hyperventilating, and the horrible idea that she was going to have a seizure crawled its way into her mind.

Taiyang realized that leaving her alone wasn't going to help Yang in the slightest. Sure, she had her occasional flashback or nightmare, and they left her in a mood where she needed time to reconstruct her thoughts, but this was different. This was a full blown panic attack, and the mere sight of his fear-stricken daughter sent a chill down Taiyang's spine.

The brawler gently placed his hands on his girl's shoulders, then carefully embraced her. He gripped her hand tightly, not so much that it would hurt, but enough to help reassure her that he was there. He stroked her hair gently and muttered soothing words, "Yang, sweetie, it's alright. It's okay. Shh...take deep breaths, okay? Nice and slow."

Yang tried to follow her dad's words, but at this point she couldn't control herself. She couldn't even speak to him, her voice only coming out through her panicked gasps. Taiyang continued, "Just breathe, sunshine. Breathe...You're okay now, I promise. Nothing's going to hurt you right now."

She wanted to believe him, more than anything, but the scene continued to play in her head, and she could practically feel the searing pain and hear the horrific slice of the sword…

Taiyang gently pressed her head against his chest and spoke softly. "Hear that?" He asked, "You hear my heartbeat? Just breathe along with that, okay sweetie? You're going to be okay, you're safe now, I promise."

Yang could hear his heartbeat, steady but only slightly faster than it probably should. He was worried about her, she could tell. But it almost amazed her that he could keep calm like this while his daughter was literally freaking out next to him.

The girl breathed through her nose, taking in her father's scent: Wood, smoke, and (admittedly) sweat. The smell, while not all that pleasing, was familiar enough to send a feeling of comfort through Yang, a reminder that she was home, with her dad, safe and sound. The whole situation felt almost surreal, and the girl who had once announced that she was ready to be referred to as an adult, now felt like a little girl who needed comfort from a nightmare. For some reason, it made her sad.

"There we go, that's it. I'm here, dragon…"

Taiyang noticed Yang beginning to calm down as her tense muscles gradually relaxed into his embrace. She buried her face in her father's chest as she cried. Why was she crying? Why was she sad?

Her arm was gone...Penny was gone...Pyrrha was gone, Beacon was gone, Blake was gone, Ruby was gone, Weiss was gone, her mother was gone, Summer was gone… Yang had felt so alone for months, letting her fears separate her from who she was. A feeling of hopelessness grew deep inside her, shadowing over her and hurting her every day.

"...everything's gone…" She choked out. The pain in his little girl's voice felt like a stab to Taiyang's heart. He couldn't bring her friends back, or Beacon back, or find Raven and convince her to be a loving mother. All he could do was be there for Yang, which he would continue to do if his own life depended on it.

"I'm here," He assured softly, "I'm right here. We can work this out, I promise. I'm right here for you, Yang."

The amount of sincerity and love in his voice set off another round of tears as Yang allowed herself to express her feelings through raw emotion. She finally shifted so she could wrap her arms around Taiyang and hold him tightly, as if he would disappear too if she ever let go. Taiyang held her close, rubbing her back and stroking her golden hair, whispering reassurances and occasionally kissing her forehead. Neither of them knew how long they sat there.

Eventually, Yang seemed to have exhausted herself. She let out a few little hiccups, but all in all, she seemed to have regained control.

"Let's go get you some water, okay?" Taiyang recommended. Yang obliged with a nod and let her father walk her back to their house. She sat on the couch while Taiyang got her a glass of ice water and handed it to her. She drank thirstily, not dismissing her father when he sat next to her and placed his arm around her shoulders.

Yang set the glass down and let out a heavy sigh. She examined her new arm, which was now covered in dirt and sweat and could definitely use a wash. She remembered the days when it wasn't even there. Where she would glance to her right and see nothing.

As she stared at the metal hand, a larger one gripped it. She looked up at her father, expecting him to say something. But he didn't. He just held her hand and smiled at her lovingly. He didn't need to say anything for Yang to wrap her arms over his shoulders into a hug. Her heart felt like it was on fire, but not in a painful way. It burned in a passionate way, as if it were a flame that had been put out a long time ago, and was just now being relit again. A warm feeling spread through the girl's body, but it wasn't entirely pleasant.

Love wasn't always happiness. It was fragile and could be painful if not treated with care. It had definitely hurt Yang many times before, and when Beacon fell, she gave herself the idea that if she just abandoned love altogether, than it wouldn't hurt as much. Little did she know that it was hurting her even more, in ways that she couldn't pinpoint.

Now that she was allowing herself to feel again, nostalgia hit her like a train, and she felt like she was finally _with_ her father again. The same way she felt when he eventually snapped out of his heartbroken state from Summer's death and remembered to be dad again.

Yang held her father tightly, "Daddy...please don't leave me…" The words hit Taiyang hard and he pulled her close. "Oh, no Yang, no no no...I'm not going anywhere. I'm right here. I'll always be here for you, baby girl."

They stayed on the couch together for hours, and it wasn't long before the exhaustion of the day's sparring mixed with their emotions sent them both to sleep. Yang didn't have any nightmares that night. In fact, she didn't even dream. Taiyang was there for her, willing to protect his Sunny Little Dragon from anything that proved too much for her.

Yang couldn't be more thankful for that.

* * *

 **To anyone who says that they don't like Taiyang and that he's a bad father: FIGHT ME**

 **In other words, I LOVE Taiyang and I adore his relationship with Yang! I can't wait to see more of him and I also wanna see some bonding between him and Ruby as well as some between Yang and Qrow. I just think that even though their family's been through so much, it's amazing how much love they still have for one another and they're all adorable and I wanna give them all a hug and tell them it's gonna be okay ROOSTERTEETH STOP HURTING MY BABIES**

 **Until next time! Hope you enjoyed~**


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